The Cat, the Doctor, and the Police Box
by C0rrupt3dSp1r1t
Summary: AU- The Doctor was off to dispose of the Master's remains on Gallifrey. But the destination was far off. He'll regenerate and forget his name, only to become Merlin (the chronology Professor) at Hogwarts. Watch his journey to remember who he was unfold as he faces the Master.
1. Wrong Time, Wrong Place

Dear Reader, 

The very beginning of this fanfic is the first scene from Doctor Who: The Movie, as it's an AU that branches off after said scene. I do not claim that scene as my own. If you wish to use my adaption of the scene, you may, just credit the BBC. If you wish to skip it simply go to the first occurence of the word _**creak**_ bold and italicized _ **.**_

Sincerely,

C0rrupt3dsp1r1t

 _It was on the planet Skaro that my old enemy the Master was finally put on trial. They say he listened calmly as his list of evil was read and sentence passed. Then he made his last, and I thought somewhat curious, request. He demanded that I, the Doctor, a rival Time Lord, should take his remains back to our home planet, Gallifrey._

 _The Time Lord has thirteen lives and the Master had used all of his, but rules never meant much to him. So I stowed his remains safely away for the voyage back, because even in death I couldn't trust him._

"There, that should do it."

The Doctor placed the Master's urn in an outer, sturdier box. He locked it, dusted off his old brown coat, and put on a jazz record. He loved jazz. It reminded him of good times. Of times he wasn't alone. Of times he wasn't old and decrepit or bitter, afraid his family might be gone by now, and that Gallifrey was a mess like the last several times he visited.

He put down his tea before getting back into the charming world of H.G. Wells.

 _In all my travels through space and time, and nearing the end of my seventh life, I was finally beginning to realize that you could never be too careful._

The Doctor had set the coordinates for Gallifrey before locking the casket. Maybe he shouldn't have. The chest he locked shut just minutes before… was shaking. It gradually got enough energy… and it cracked.

The record started skipping.

The Doctor fixed the record and sat back down. He looked down at his tea and saw ripples in it. The ripples slowly changed to a whirlpool.

The box broke apart.

The record started skipping again.

The tea spilled by itself.

A sluglike ooze crept underneath the TARDIS console and it began sparking.

The Doctor ran to the console and hit a number of buttons and switches. It kept sparking.

" **Critical Timing Malfunction**

 **Instigate Automatic Emergency Landing"** flashed on the monitor.

"Oh no.." his voice quivered with worry.

He returned the the chest that held the Master's remains, only to see it broken in two and a trail of slime oozing forth from it.

The Doctor felt a bump as the ship materialized, leaving not a shred of doubt in his mind that the Master changed the coordinates to escape.

He went back to the console. The Doctor couldn't pinpoint where he was, no coordinates, and sensors were down. He'd have to explore on his own.

 _ **Creak**_

The doors opened to reveal a rather old looking street. It was nearing midnight. And, peculiarly, staring at him, was a grey marble-patterned cat with glowing green eyes.

He wasn't interested in the cat though. He walked right past it down one of the two branches of the street. One was in an open area but was totally unlit and devoid of people. One branch had lit buildings and figures chatting in the windows, however, it was in a tunnel of some kind, making all natural light vanish. There was a sign pointing to it he couldn't entirely make out.

The noise of his question-mark umbrella's tip hitting the ground as he swung it while walking echoed loudly on the cobblestone. It was a sound he was accustomed to and found rather calming. While he sometimes needed jazz, a good book, and tea, more often he just needed to hear that sound and focus on what was ahead.

He didn't see it, because he wasn't paying attention to it, but the cat was following him.

He obviously wanted to know where he was, so he went into the tunnel and knocked on the door to one of the buildings. It looked to be a pub.

 _ **Knock, Knock, Knock**_

 _ **Creak**_

The door opened a crack.

"Who ar' ya?" a voice could be heard from the other side. His accent was thick and gruff.

"The Doctor!" he put it bluntly.

"Yer NAME!"

"As far as you're concerned, that's it." His voice was quiet but direct. "I'm not feeling particularly keen on spending time getting you to believe me. I have affairs to deal with tonight, and one of them involves information," his r's rolled sternly.

The door opened up, revealing a tall man in robes and cloak. He had his hand on something inside a pocket in the robe. When he looked down to see the Doctor's short form, it left the pocket and he sighed in relief.

It was indeed a pub. Several people were drinking and talking. They were all shapes and sizes, but they had one thing in common: their dress sense. The Doctor wasn't really an outlier here. Most of them wore cloaks, robes, and some even wore funny hats. But a few were dressed like the Doctor, in otherwise eccentric clothing.

"Sorry 'bout never know nowadays with Sirius Black about. I'm Milton."

The Doctor hooked his precious umbrella into a coat pocket so he could shake hands. "Who's Sirius Black? I'm intrigued." he asked.

"You don't know about Sirius Black? He murdered innocents, followed the path of he-who-must-not-be-named! The whole wizarding world knows about him! You been living under a rock?" Milton asked, quite surprised.

The pub went quiet. Whispers were exchanged, gossiping about Sirius Black.

"Well, no.. I've been living in something about as far from a rock as you can go. I definitely haven't been around here though. Wait- did I hear you incorrectly or did you say wizarding world? It's news to me that there's one in this universe," he chuckled quietly and sighed.

In reaction to his words, gasps could be heard between the whispers of gossip, and there were a few disdainful looks. "He's a muggle!" one interjected.

One of the wizards got up. His hair was blonde and his voice was posh. "Mudbloods shouldn't be here. Get him out! He'll regret walking into Knockturn Alley."

Many of them left their seats and surrounded him, a few brandished wands.

"No need to fuss. Honestly, I shouldn't have been surprised that there were wizards, I only met up with Morgaine recently. I'm Merlin." the Doctor stuttered.

This only angered them further, making them push him towards the entryway.

There was a blast of magic from the crowd and he started running. Several more blasts missed him as he was out of the building and turned back, trying to leave Knockturn Alley.

There was a stray shout and seconds after a green bolt of light. "Avada Kedavra!"

It hit the Doctor in the back and he toppled over.

Nobody could prove who it was but many knew. Lucius Malfoy. He wouldn't dirty his hands in front of anyone, but he would behind backs or through other means. The killing curse was one of the greatest crimes that a wizard could be sentenced for, and none wished to be suspects.

They filed back inside.

Few in the crowd would be any more likely to actually kill a muggle than another wizard. Around here, however, that didn't mean much.

The cat had watched all of this take place outside the tavern from a window and saw everything outside. She knew it wasn't likely to do any good checking his pulse with what was used on him, but there was a small chance the spell failed. The spectacle-shaped markings near her eyes made the cat look deep in thought.

Her light grey paw firmly pressed against his neck. His pulse was weak, but still there. No. Pulses. Plural. Two to be precise.

Minerva McGonagall transformed herself back into a human and looked down at the Doctor.

"Great God, he's alive. And he has two pulses? What should I do? Merlin… I guess I have no choice."

She sighed and pulled her wand out from under her hat.

And so she waved it in the air and spoke a quiet word to herself, holding onto his arm all the while. The next moment, the two of them were gone, leaving the alley silent and empty once more.


	2. What to Do?

Dear Reader,

For the next couple of chapters I'm doing quick little transitions between scenes and I'd like to publish them more quickly, that's why they'll be pretty short.

Sincerely, C0rrUpt3dsp1r1t

Minerva whispered to herself, "His condition isn't good, but I can't take him to Mungo's- they'd go nothing short of finding out and forcing us to leave. There's just too many people there and I couldn't check in at this hour. Merlin's too important to risk it. I have to save him _."_

McGonagall paced around the street she had brought them to, her boots clicking on the ground. It wasn't very far away, but those that participated in the event wouldn't notice and that was good enough for her to get a better look at him.

She had one think fast, so she ran through all the simplest options in her head first. Many were incredibly risky, but she only somewhat cared about it. She only has to find her way quickly.

It was decided. She was forced to bring him to Hogwarts. The school year hadn't begun yet and few teachers were even there. There was enough privacy in the teacher's rooms to safely tend to the unconscious man. It was a cause worth the trouble.

In an instant, they vanished once more.


End file.
